The Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz – is a ballet company. The first musical performances in Bydgoszcz were presented at the Miejski (City) Theatre in the 19th Century, although these were mainly guest performances of opera companies from Gdańsk, Poznań and abroad. In 1920–1939 the “German Stage” was very popular. A professional ballet did not appear in Bydgoszcz until 1925–1926, at the Pomeranian Opera of the United Theatres Bydgoszcz-Toruń-Grudziądz, managed by Karol Benda. A small ballet group was part of the company. The present company originates from a group from the Opera Studio, created in 1956. The group’s first performance was Wesele krakowskie w Ojcowie by Krupiński at the Ziemi Pomorskiej Theatre on 21 September. In 1958, the group presented a full performance The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (this performance in Bydgoszcz was also the Polish premiere of the ballet). This event along with others enabled the transformation of the Studio into the Municipal Opera Theatre. To date, the ballet company in Bydgoszcz has presented over 30 premieres of classic ballet, ballet soirees and contemporary ballets. Since 1995, the Ballet Studio has operated at the Opera Nova, with a short ballet school programme, and its members have participated in some ballet and music performances of the theatre. Every year, Bydgoszcz Opera Festival takes place, during which ballet performances of all ballet groups from Poland and abroad are presented.
Most important premieres: The Fountain of Bakhchisarai by Boris Asafiev (1959), Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev (1962), Wesele krakowskie w Ojcowie by Karol Kurpiński, choreography by Rajmund Sobisiak (1964), Pan Twardowski by Ludomir Różycki, choreography by Rajmund Sobisiak (1966), The Legend of Love by Arif Melikov, choreography by Hanna Miller (1967), The tale of the stone flower by Sergei Prokofiev (1970), Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, choreography by Rajmund Sobiesiak and Kazimierz Wrzosek (with guest appearance of outstanding dancer Olga Sawicka as Odette, 1972), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, choreography by Krystyna Gruszkówna (1975), Anna Karenina, choreography by Krystyna Gruszkówna (1979), Pinocchio (1979), Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev and Bardzo śpiąca królewna by Augustyn Bloch (1981), Pan Twardowski, choreography by Przemysław Śliwa (1982), Sleeping Beauty by Bogdan Pawłowski, choreography by Witold Borkowski, The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Cesare Pugni (music by Reinhold Glier), choreography by Przemysław Śliwa (1983), Pudełko z zabawkami for the music by Claude Debussy, Peer Gynt by Edward Grieg, choreography by Przemysław Śliwa (1984), The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, choreography by Przemysław Śliwa (1986), Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev, choreography by Przemysław Śliwa (1987), Dzikie łabędzie, ballet with the music by Bernadetta Matuszczak (1992), Don Quixote by Ludwig A. Minkus (1996), Puss in Boots by Bogdan Pawłowski (1997), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Bogdan Pawłowski (2000), Sleeping Beauty by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (2005), Wieczór baletowy by Marek Zajączkowski (2006), Pan Twardowski by Ludomir Różycki, choreography by Marek Zajączkowski (2007), Cinderella by Sergei Prokofiev, choreography and direction by Iwona Runowska (2009), The Captive Mind, choreography by Robert Bondara, Midsummer Night’s Dream, choreography by Karol Urbański (2011).
